A woman charged with assault told News4 she was attacked by a Metrobus driver because of her sexual orientation.

Brittany Floyd and her female partner boarded the X2 bus at Gallery Place Wednesday evening.

Driver, Female Passenger Scuffle Aboard Metro Bus

A female passenger allegedly assaulted the driver when she boarded a Metro bus and then again as she exited police said. The bus driver in turn struck the woman in the face, witnesses said. Several people witnessed the assault in Northeast Washington, D.C. (Published Thursday, Jun 27, 2013)

"When she walked past, he decided to turn and look," Floyd told News4. "It was obvious we were together. I asked him, 'What are you looking at?'"

Floyd said the bus driver kept making comments all the way to 34th Street and Benning Road NE where the two women got off the bus at approximately 8 p.m.

"As I was walking off the bus, he said, 'Don't think you're a real man,'" Floyd said. "I threw a piece of paper at him, he turned the bus off. He picked something up, took his seatbelt off. He said, 'Hit me, hit me.'"

She said she didn't hit the driver but said he hit her, while holding something sharp in his hands.

However, witnesses told News4's Shomari Stone they did see Floyd hitting the bus driver.

"I'd never hit a woman in my life, but when you have a woman punching you in the face constantly, you gotta defend yourself," bus rider Anthony Hall said.

Metro has not released video of the incident and has not commented on the specifics. News4's Adam Tuss asked Metro Transit Police Chief Ronald Pavlik whether it's ever okay for a driver to hit a passenger.

"I think every situation is unique and different," Pavlik said. "I think an operator has some right to defend himself."

Floyd, who has several stitches on her face, was charged with assault. She calls the incident a hate crime.

"I know my sexual orientation had a lot to do with it because at the end of the day he felt like he was proving a point," Floyd said.